Rainfall Breaks Record

July 15, 2003|By Daily Press

The heavy rains Monday morning might have caused some headaches but didn't cause any major flooding problems on the Peninsula.

The rain did, however, set a daily rainfall record at Norfolk International Airport, where climate data for the area is recorded. By 5 p.m., 3.34 inches had fallen at the airport, beating the daily record of 2.03 inches set in 1959, according to the National Weather Service in Wakefield.

On the Peninsula, however, about an inch and a half of rain had fallen in Newport News and Hampton by noon. There was some street flooding at the height of the rain, but that was because storm drains and pipes were unable to handle so much water at one time.

"It's a lot of rain, but it's not out of hand," said Larry Brown, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

The average rainfall amount in the Norfolk area for July is 5 inches. Before Monday's rain, almost 2 inches had been recorded, Brown said.